WHAT if he loses? That’s the question author Ta-Nehisi Coates asks in an essay in the Oct. 20, 2008 issue of “Time “ magazine. He wonders how blacks will react if Democrat Barack Obama fails to win the White House on Nov. 4.
“An Obama defeat would be greeted with a loud sucking of the teeth and deepening of self-doubt,” he says. “A loss would be hugely disappointing, and to put it crudely, it would also be more of the same.”
Actually, asking the question is more of the same.
Though I admire Coates and think him a hugely talented writer, raising the question about loss--not victory--is troubling. Even now, as the country is poised for major political and cultural change—a change that has been coming since the mid 1990s when the first class of new styled black leaders hit the mayoral suites and the halls of Congress—some African American see mostly the possibility of defeat.
Blacks are comfortable as victims and losers. Sometimes, their intimate relationship with defeat causes them to sabotage their own success. TBR has a girlfriend like that. We constantly try to analyze why she thinks she doesn’t deserve the best and, thus, repeatedly gets in her own way.
The generations of TBR’s great grandmother and grandmother understandably expected their success to be thwarted. After all, they-- Louisiana ladies-- were only a short walk from slavery and Jim Crow. But Coates, not unlike Obama, is beneficiary of the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement. Both men are heirs of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream: improved, integrated America where people are judged by the content of their character not the color of their skin. And while there is no denying that racism continues lives on, it’s on life support, taking its final breaths during these opening chapters of the 21st Century.
The truth is, considering the advancements African Americans have made over the last 30 years, the question was never if a black person could be elected president, but when. And now, as Obama, working with David Axelrod--a brilliant political strategist--and campaign manage David Plouffe, stand within reach of the White House--bloody and muddy, but unbowed--some African Americans are asking the Coates question. Others are dissecting what role the Bradley factor is playing in Obama’s double-digit poll numbers. The Bradley factor, name after Tom Bradley former mayor of Los Angeles, who when he ran for governor of California was out polling his white opponent. Bradley lost, and the conclusion was that white voters lied.
Are they lying now when they say Obama is their man?
The question for African Americans is what will they do if Obama wins. What demands are they prepared to make on one of their own? He will not be president of “Black America” but of all America. Does that mean that he cannot address issues of major importance to them without being perceived as catering to special interests? Are blacks a special interest? And then the larger, perhaps more relevant question, what are African Americans prepared to do to ensure the success of his presidency?
In a two-person race, someone is going to lose. There is a high probability that this time it won’t be African Americans. Hard to believe. But blacks had better get ready. Winning carries a far greater burden than losing.
SIDESHOWS AND SOUVENIRS
PETER NICKLES, D.C. acting attorney general, proved Friday he can take a punch—or three. During his confirmation hearing before the council, nearly a dozen public witnesses told legislators not to approve his appointment. About eight others sang his praise. He tussled with Ward 3’ Council member Mary Cheh and At-Large member Phil Mendelson.
Not surprisingly, the 70 year-old lawyer, who TBR has compared to Vice President Dick Cheney, seemed unfazed by the barrage of negative commentary. His demeanor may be the reflection of an indisputable reality: He doesn’t need the job.
Nickles confirmation is handicapped by familiarity. Unlike most nominees, who often are new and, therefore, unknown, everyone claims to know Nickles. He joined the government more than a year ago as general counsel to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. He has been a friend of the Fenty family for decades. And, he doesn’t apologize for placing the mayor’s interests at the top of his list of public priorities.
Nickles moved down the hall from Fenty’s third-floor bullpen when he was named earlier this year the acting head of the Office of the Attorney General—an agency with more than 300 lawyers handling civil and criminal cases and all manner of legal matters in between.
In his role as general counsel to the mayor, he won more enemies than friends, including Cheh who didn’t cotton to the way Nickles treated Linda Singer when she was attorney general. According to press reports, Singer, a Ward 3 resident, resigned because she believed Nickles was undermining her authority. As interim AG, he fired a bunch of lawyers; he claimed they weren’t up to the standards of excellence he was attempting to bring to the agency. He also was at the center of the firing of government workers whose neglect allegedly led to the death of four young girls. He sanctioned the Metropolitan Police Department’s Trinidad checkpoints. (Well, you get TBR’s drift.)
TBR likes Nickles--although she doesn’t always agree with him. He has enhanced the professionalism at the OAG. But more important, he has brought fight to the agency. In the past, government lawyers fell to the mat before any blows were exchanged. That behavior meant millions of public dollars went out the door in settlements. Additionally, people broke District regulations and laws with impunity. Slum landlords abused tenants; consumers received substandard goods and services; and taxpayers dished out money for contractors who didn’t deliver as promised.
The OAG hasn’t quite reached that gold standard level. But, it’s on its way. Nickles deserves the credit and the council’s approval of his nomination.
AT-LARGE COUNCIL CANDIDATES TO DEBATE THIS WEEK. The DC Bar, DC Affairs Section is holding a Political Forum next Fri, October 24 at 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. at the law firm of Reed Smith (1301 K Street, NW) in the East Penthouse featuring the candidates for the two at-large seats up for election on the DC City Council. Journalists Tom Sherwood, Mark Segraves and Denise Rolark Barnes will question the candidates. Bruce DePuyt will moderate. For more information call 202-331-8080x13 or e-mail kram@consortium.org.
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